Moscow, Mar 11 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Seven foreign hostages have been killed by a Nigerian Islamist group, the western governments said Sunday.
The hostages -- nationals of Italy, Britain, Greece and Lebanon -- were captured by the militant group Ansaru in a raid on a construction site in Nigeria's northern state of Bauchi last month.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the British construction worker "is likely to have been killed at the hands of his captors, along with six other foreign nationals," BBC reported.
Italian officials issued a statement Sunday saying that the news about the deaths of all the hostages is believed to be true. Later Greece confirmed the death of its citizen too.
In a statement posted online Saturday, the militant group said it had killed the captives.
The Ansaru militant group, which emerged only last year, reportedly has ties to Al-Qaeda.